It’s ridiculously hard to recall any horror movie which has a specific sport as the central hook. The only one that comes immediately to mind is Goal of the Dead from 2014, a not-bad French sports horror comedy that uses the MacGuffin of infected steroids at a regional football tournament to instigate a small-scale zombie apocalypse. Shaun of the Dead with gallic balls, you might say. Beyond that, you’re really stretching and probably having to revert to sci-fi stuff like Death Race 2000, Rollerball, and… umm… Deathsport. Maybe, some psycho-thrillers like The Fan or Swimfan might get a throw-in as well. Why the lack of sports-horror? Is it because so many people take their preferred sport so damned seriously that they don’t want them defamed with gore or mocked with bloody giggles? Whatever the reason, Him is a unique (and exceedingly surreal) excursion into this barely populated sub-genre. Directed (and co-written) by Justin Tipping, much has been made of the fact that it’s been produced by Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions and stars Marlon Wayans. It was originally to have been called “GOAT” (as in “Greatest Of All Time”, and not “Grill Old Awful Turkeys” or “Get Out Andrew Tate!”, or something), but was changed (possibly to avoid confusion with Sony Animation’s “Goat” in 2026, about a basketball-playing anthropomorphic… err…  goat). Released in the States in mid-September, it has to be said that it didn’t review or perform particularly well over there. But now it’s over here. Touchdown or throw-up?

 

Firmly set in the franchised world of American Football, the story starts with a young Cameron "Cam" Cade watching the San Antonio Saviours win the league championship, much to his delight and his father’s whooping joy. This is tempered somewhat by seeing his personal hero (an unhinged Wayans as Isaiah White) leave the game with his leg bone jutting out of his knee in a horrific injury. As the credits roll, the expected “retirement” of White doesn’t happen, and in a montage, he is shown to continue to dominate the game. As Cam (now a suitably intense Tyriq Withers) ages, he becomes a rising football star himself and is expected to succeed White when he finally quits. However, his ambition is very nearly crushed when he is blindsided by a vicious attack by an unknown assailant in a mascot costume. Left with a badly fractured skull and a stapled head wound, his confidence hits the skids. That’s when he gets an invite from White to join him at his underground complex in the middle of the desert. Offered the opportunity to train with his hero for one week and literally join the big leagues, it’s an offer that he can’t refuse. But you should be very careful what you wish for, because a lot is going on here, and the unorthodox training could leave Cam with more than just a sore head.

 

This has been an extremely divisive film for many people, especially in the States. Its box office takings have struggled to break anywhere near even so far, let alone make a profit. US critics complained that the dialogue was dreadful, the performances were wooden, and its themes were confusing. Having finally seen the movie, that seems somewhat unfair (bearing in mind this is a personal opinion). Yes, it is flawed and a lot of the time, there is an emphasis on style over substance. But the lead performances are mostly pretty good, and there is a distinctive feeling of a surreal and disquieting horror that is all too rare in mainstream horror these days. In fact, although the director (in some trade interviews) compared it to Nosferatu or Ex Machina, that is absolutely not the case. It feels more like something that the late Ken Russell might film (if he were an American Football fan, that is) or a project that Ben Wheatley might work on (when not stooping to disappointing giant shark movie sequels). In other words, it feels like a modern folk horror or urban fairy tale (like Suspiria), rather than something more obvious or direct. And that’s just one reason why it probably flopped.

 

The links between franchised sport and religion are hammered home pretty unsubtly. Apart from the gag in the title (Him sounds exactly like “Hymn”! Geddit?), there’s a lot more iconography at work here. There’s plenty of crucifix (and crucifixion) imagery flying around, not least of which in the movie poster itself. And if you don’t get the reference, then one brief scene actually replicates Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” in its entirety. It’s clear here that the plot is skewering the perception of football (and presumably any major franchised sport) as a replacement for religion and a target for unhealthy worship. Zombie (or “cult-like”) fans surround White’s complex, and some even sacrifice their well-being for pointless exercises. It’s an interesting juxtaposition, which is likely to rub some people up the wrong way or upset others with its perceived crassness (especially in later scenes). There are clear references to “holy blood” and rituals, with a clever mythology that puts certain beliefs under an unflattering microscope.

 

Not only that, but there’s a very clear finger-wagging exercise going on here regarding toxic masculinity as well. As a child, Cam is forced by his father to watch White’s sick-inducing injury and is told that “Real men aren’t afraid to make sacrifices”. As an adult, Cam is openly mocked and berated by White for showing respect to his girlfriend and reminded that “winners don’t show remorse”. In many respects, it’s a middle finger to the heartless collusion of the “American Dream” and the “winner’s mentality” that is prevalent in sport philosophies. And that’s probably not going to go down well in some sectors. When you’re dealing with unhealthy mentorship, occult imagery, and a pointed critique of ambition, it doesn’t take long for some people to shout, “woke horror!!”. But there’s more to “Him” than that. Despite critical moans, Wayans and Withers (sounds like a country music duo) are both pretty good. Wayans, in particular, is wonderfully loopy in later scenes, and his moods turn believably on a dime. Withers is naive and intense and undergoes a dynamic emotional transformation in the denouement. Julia Fox is less effective in her role and pretty disappointing, but at least someone gets to mock her eyebrows for what it’s worth. Australian comedian Jim Jefferies is worthy of mention, as he nails his character in several key sequences.

 

Whilst Him is certainly flawed in some respects, you get the impression that a lot of the vitriol and dislike of it comes from the themes of sport fanaticism, religious devotion, and the acknowledgement of what obsessive ambition does to a person. It is actually quite effective at key moments. There are at least two sequences where the somewhat irritating urban soundtrack is silenced and Cam is menaced by unknown elements in exceptionally creepy stillness. Another couple of scenes transform the cinematography into thermal or X-ray vision to excellent effect. The whole idea of a “goat” status is elevated to an intriguing mythology that incorporates football history and gladiator tropes. This is given an extra layer as you realise what White must have done to ensure his continued status level in the game and what the people around him have been complicit in. Plot development is all the better for making you work out some of the details, rather than holding your hand with lengthy exposition dumps.

 

There’s also the complication of the “substance” that is being surreptitiously pumped into Cam and the fact that his damaged brain is potentially playing tricks on him, which adds to the creepy dreamlike quality of some events. All of this is then cherry-topped with a genuinely satisfying ending that pays off all the earlier shenanigans. Gloriously over-the-top, it is miles better than the rumoured low-level ending that was (allegedly) previously considered. Instead, you get bloody spurts and deserved mutilation, which definitely irked some critics with its exploitation value, but to be honest, it feels earned here and ends the movie with a bravura flourish. You can’t please all the people…

 

In a year that’s been full of original (and just plain weird ass) genre projects, there have been enormous successes (Sinners, Weapons, etc), and big ol’ flops (Opus, Wolf Man, etc). Him looks destined to be classified in that latter section, and it doesn’t really deserve it. At the very least, it takes an underserved sub-genre and runs with it to the touchline, even if it does get a bloody nose on the way. Bold and ingenious in many respects, the slightly over-stylised presentation of its occultist slant on modern sports is something different, even if it’s not mind-blowing. Not many people may agree with that view, but there have certainly been worse films this year and Him deserves a little more attention than it's got so far. Don’t kick it to the curb without a look. VAR please!